Chat rooms.I came across this term sometime back in 2001.I thought it was a separate dining hall in Saravana bhavan tht serves bhel puri.I later understood the actual meaning of it.

My first tryst with chat was in 2003 when I stepped into a Yahoo chat room.I did this since there was an article in The Shatabdi........err......... Indian Express about the advantages of chat.One of these advantages,mentioned,was "........helps you get in touch with people from other cities or countries."

As a mark of respect to my country,I stepped into the "India" room.There were mostly males in the room,all jobless gal-seeking desperados.I messaged a few of them.None of them responded.Most guys have their ids, designed to attract gals,like chintu_salman,salmanseekingash,romeoforjulietsonly and many more.Whom u expect to be salman-like,turns out to be a puny fellow.And those seeking ash are mostly busy corporates who r actually looking for a cigar.

Some design it better:rakesh_friendofall,harish_palofguyz(not curses),frndshipwithall,etc.But when u send them an IM,u wont get a response.Also they put forward a question--ASL plz.What I thought to be Automatic Spindle Leveller of a drilling machine turned out to be "Age Sex Location".U get rejected by such desperados if u r above 20 and if u r male.

What are these fellows actually seeking in girls?To find out I created an alternative profile with a female name and went to chat.The next moment,my screen was flooded with IMs all from guys.I had a tough time closing each window,cursing myself for having done such a cheap**** thing.

One fellow seemed decent so I picked up a chat with him.After a few minutes,he asked "Do u like s*x?"I didnt respond.He kept buzzing me.I simply clicked Ignore.

I quit chatting when I realised my semester scores were going down.I wanted them to soar like the Bombay sensex.From then on,I dont visit chat rooms often.

Overall it's a wonderful experience if the person on the other end is not a desperado.I've managed to make a few frnds.I've confirmed their identities with the phone nos they gave me.

So go ahead and chat,but stick to ur limits.It's always better to network in the real world than in the virtual.

****--I thought it was a cheap thing but Indian Express writer Bishwanath Ghosh did the same thing.Indha mathiri pammaathu velayellam senja,cyber crime police pudichuruvaanga.